Low profile random selection spinner wheel

ABSTRACT

A random selection spinner including a backboard and a spinner wheel having a front side and a backside and having one or more holes in the backside thereof. The random selection spinner may also include an axle coupled to the backboard which passes into at least portion of the spinner wheel and that couples the spinner wheel to the backboard in that allows for rotation of the spinner wheel relative to the backboard and a spacer located between the backboard and the spinner wheel that keeps at least a portion of the spinner wheel a substantially constant distance from the backboard. The ransom selection spinner may also include a detent mechanism located between the backboard and the backside of the spinner that is arranged to contact the one or more holes in the backside of the spinner.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S.Provisional Application 60/836,358, filed Aug. 8, 2006 and which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to random selection spinner wheel and, inparticular, to a random selection spinner wheel having a low profile.

BACKGROUND

A random selection spinner is a device designed to make a randomselection among several options. In general, a random selection spinnerconsists of a rotating wheel or arrow mounted on a central axle so thatthe wheel or arrow can be spun around the axle by a person or machine.The wheel or arrow has sufficient inertia that it will continue spinningafter the initial force has been exerted. Markings on or around thewheel, or on a surface behind the arrow, indicate the various possibleselections. The final stopping position of the wheel or arrow indicatesthe random selection among the options.

To reduce the ambiguity of the stopping position of the random selectionspinner, devices have been added that prevent the wheel or arrow fromstopping on the line between two selections. The device typically usedis a flexible pointer that is fastened to the end of the rotating arrow,or to a fixed indicator pointer that engages the edge of a spinnerwheel. The flexible pointer engages detents on the selections and snapsfrom one to the next as the spinner turns. Thus, the flexible pointer isalways pointing to a specific selection, and not the line between them.

As the spinner rotates and the flexible pointer advances from one detentto the next a slapping sound is typically generated. For manyapplications, this sound is considered beneficial. At the beginning ofeach spin, the repetition rate of the slapping sound is high, and itgradually slows as the spinner slows until it stops on the finalselection.

The present designs of random selection spinners work well for theirintended applications, however, their complexity of fabrication makesthem relatively large, heavy, and expensive to fabricate. In addition,the flexible pointer is often thin and delicate and subject to damagewhen transporting or handling the unit. The traditional designs are notwell suited for applications where the random selection spinner must beportable or frequently handled or stored without damage. Also, the costof unit of the traditional design is higher than is appropriate for somepotential applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the appended claims set forth the features of the presentinvention with particularity, the invention, together with its objectsand advantages, may be best understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is an example of one embodiment of a random selection spinneraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of a random selection spinneraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 a is an example of a detent mechanism utilized in of oneembodiment of a random selection spinner according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 b is a side view of an example of a detent mechanism utilized inof one embodiment of a random selection spinner according to the presentinvention attached to a backboard;

FIG. 3 c is a is a side view of an example of a detent mechanismutilized in of one embodiment of a random selection spinner according tothe present invention attached to a backboard and contacting a hole inthe spinning disk;

FIG. 4 is an example of one embodiment of a random selection spinneraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an example of one embodiment of a random selection spinneraccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an example of one embodiment of a random selection spinneraccording to the present invention.

SUMMARY

In view of the above deficiencies, the present invention, in some or allof its embodiments, may achieve at least one of the following objects. Afirst such object is the creation of a random selection spinner with avery thin profile that is large enough to be seen across a large roomand that provides a satisfyingly long spin (e.g. greater than 6revolutions) with a typical operator push. A further object is thecreation of a random selection spinner that includes a detent to preventit from stopping on the line between two selections. A further object ofthis invention is a random selection spinner that provides a satisfyingsound that can be heard across a large room as the detent moves from oneselection to the next. A further object of this invention is a thinprofile random selection spinner that has no exposed delicate mechanismsthat are subject to damage with rough handling, storage, and/ortransportation.

In one embodiment there is provided a random selection spinner. Theransom selection spinner of this embodiment includes a backboard and aspinner wheel having a front side and a backside and having one or moreholes in the backside thereof. The random selection spinner of thisembodiment may also include an axle coupled to the backboard whichpasses into at least portion of the spinner wheel and that couples thespinner wheel to the backboard in that allows for rotation of thespinner wheel relative to the backboard and a spacer located between thebackboard and the spinner wheel that keeps at least a portion of thespinner wheel a substantially constant distance from the backboard. Therandom selection spinner of this embodiment may also include a detentmechanism located between the backboard and the backside of the spinnerthat is arranged to contact the one or more holes in the backside of thespinner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an example of one embodiment of a random selection spinner100 according to the present invention. The random selection spinner 100of this embodiment includes a backing support member 102. As shown, thebacking support 102 is a rectangular board. However, this is by way ofillustration only and the backing support 102 may be of any shape orsize and may actually be a fixed object such as a wall.

In one embodiment, the random selection spinner 100 may also includerotating disc 104. The rotating disk, when in operation, may rotate withrespect to the backing support 102. In one embodiment, an axle 106 thatpasses through the center of the rotating disc 104 is mounted to thebackboard 102, such that the disc can freely rotate about the axle 106.

In one embodiment, the axle 106 is securely attached to the backboard102 and extends perpendicular to the surface of the backboard 102. Inone embodiment, a spacer 202 (FIG. 2) may be placed between the rotatingdisk 104 and the back board 102 to hold the rotating disc 104 a shortdistance from the backboard 102. This spacer keeps the edges of therotating disc 104 from touching the backboard 102 and causing excessivedrag that will reduce the spinning time of the disc 104 when it isstarted with a push from the user. In one embodiment the spacer 202 maybe placed around the axle 106 but, of course, the spacer(s) could beplaced in other locations.

As described in greater detail below, the space created between the disc104 and backboard 102 created by the spacer 202 may contain detentmechanism 204 (FIG. 2) which serves to cause the random selectionspinner 100 to click as the disk 104 is rotated and to cause the disk104 to reduce speed and eventually stop at a particular location. Oneexample of a detent mechanism is a spring.

The back board 102 may also include a selection pointer 108. Thispointer 108 may be printed or otherwise made to appear on the backboard102 and serves to identify the selection zone 110 which has beenselected when the rotating disk 104 stops rotating.

In one embodiment, the backboard 102 may be made from a rigid materialthat is 0.25 inches thick. The material of the backboard can be plastic,wood, cardboard, metal, etc. One embodiment uses a plastic panel made ofexpanded rigid PVC for stiffness, light weight, and low cost. Thismaterial is available in a bright white color and the indicator pointercan also be easily printed on it.

The body of the rotating disc 104 in this embodiment can also be madefrom plastic, wood, cardboard, metal, etc. In the preferred embodimentthe body of the rotating disc is made from solid rigid PVC plastic thatis 0.125″ thick. The PVC plastic is low cost, rigid and dense (ascompared to other plastics, wood or cardboard). This density providesenough mass for an appropriately long spin time with a disc that is notoverly thick thus minimizing the overall thickness of the device. Asshown, the rotating disc 104 is circular in shape but one of ordinaryskill in the art will realize that other shapes could be used for therotating disc 104.

The body of the rotating disc 104 has a number of holes 112 through itthat correspond to the positions of the selections zones 110 marked onthe surface of the disc 104. In one embodiment, these holes are at anapproximately constant radius from the center of the disc. The onlyrequirement for the location of the holes is that they do not cross aboundary 116 between any two adjacent selection zones 110. The holes canbe of any of a variety of different shapes, such as round, square,rectangular, rectangular with rounded corners, oval, etc. The holes 112may go all the way through the disc 104 or may only go partly throughthe backside of the disk 104.

In one embodiment, round holes are used for their simplicity inmanufacture. If in the holes 112 pass all the way through the disk 104,the front surface of the rotating disc 104, including the holes 112, iscovered with a decorative thin sheet of plastic or other material (notshown). This plastic sheet also acts like a drumhead to enhance thesound created as the disc rotates. Plastics such as vinyl, polyester,polycarbonate, polypropylene, polyethylene, PETG, etc. can be used. Thepreferred embodiment uses a vinyl sheet with a coating that allows theuse of dry erase markers on the surface. In some embodiments, theplastic sheet covers only the holes 112 in the body of the disc 104, butthe overall appearance is enhanced when the plastic sheet covers theentire front surface of the rotating disc 104.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of one embodiment of a random selection spinner100. This embodiment includes a backboard 102, a spinner wheel 104, anda spacer 202, which separates the backboard 102 from the spinner wheel104. The axle 106 may be a screw or other fastener surrounded by asleeve bearing that securely fastens to the backboard 102. The spacer202 may be installed around the axle 106 to hold the rotating disc 104 ashort distance (0.25″ in the preferred embodiment) away from thebackboard 102 and to provide a space for the detent spring. In oneembodiment, the spacer 202 is a disk that surrounds the axle 106. Ofcourse, other types of spacers may be used.

In one embodiment, the spacer 202 has a large enough diameter tominimize the tilting of the rotating disc 104 with respect to thebackboard 102. If the axle 106 is a screw it may be surrounded by abearing sleeve and tightened against the stack-up of the bearing sleeveand spacer 202 to hold them securely in position. A metal washer may bepositioned under the head of the screw along with an optional springwasher to apply pressure against the rotating disc 104 to hold itagainst the spacer 202 and prevent it from tilting.

One embodiment of the present invention includes a detent mechanism(round wire spring 114 is one possible configuration) that is cantilevermounted to the backboard 104 and protrudes approximately radiallyoutward from the axle 106 as shown in FIG. 1.

The shape and mounting of the wire spring used in the preferredembodiment is shown in FIGS. 3 a-3 c. The spring 114 is mounted suchthat the spring force pushes the end of the spring 302 into the holes inthe rotating disc body and then presses against the back side of themembrane that covers the holes if such membrane is present. In oneembodiment (FIG. 3 b), the end of the spring 114 is shaped such that itcan slide into and out of the holes with some resistance due to thespring action, but with smooth enough edges to prevent damage to themembrane, disc or spring. As the disc is rotated, the spring end movesinto and out of each of the holes 112 as they pass the mounting locationof the spring (FIG. 3 c). The spring mounted in this location iscompletely protected from abuse of handling and transport because alldelicate parts of the mechanism are between the rotating disc and thebackboard. The detent mechanism may be attached to the back board in anymanner.

Operation of Random Selection Spinner

When the disc 104 of the random selection spinner 100 is not rotating,the movable end 302 of the detent spring 114 will typically bepositioned somewhere in one of the holes 102 in the rotating disc asshown in FIG. 4. The movable end 302 of the spring 114 is pressinglightly against the back side of the membrane covering the hole 112 inthe rotating disc 104.

When the disc 104 is rotated, the edge of the hole 112 in the disc 104contacts the edge of the movable end 302 of the spring 114. Furtherrotation of the disc 104 causes the spring 114 to bend sideways becauseof the pressure applied to the spring 114 by the edge of the hole 112 asshown in FIG. 5. In particular, FIG. 5 shows the disc 104 rotatingcounterclockwise and the right edge of a hole is in contact with themovable end of the detent spring.

As the disc continues to rotate, the movable end 302 of the spring 114is moved further from the rest position, until the return spring forceis high enough to cause the spring 114 end to “pop” out of the hole 112in the disc 104. When the spring end 302 pops out of the hole 112, thestored energy in the spring 114 causes it to quickly move across thedivider region between the holes and drop into the next hole as is shownin FIG. 6. When the spring end drops into the next hole it strikes theback surface of the membrane across the hole or the base of the hole ifit does not go all the way through the disc. The membrane acts as adrumhead across the hole and creates an audible sound when it is struckby the spring end. As the disc 104 continues to rotate, this operationis repeated for each hole that passes the spring location to create acontinuous sequence of “popping” sounds from each drumhead as it isstruck by the end of the detent spring. When the disc 104 is spun by theuser, the sounds occur rapidly at first and then slow and stop as thedisc rotation slows and stops.

For proper operation, the width of the divider area between the holes inthe disc body may be chosen to be less than the sideways deflection ofthe spring end caused by the wheel rotation. For example, in thepreferred embodiment described here, the distance between the edges ofadjacent holes is approximately 0.45″. When the disc is rotated theengagement between the spring end and the edge of the hole causes theend of the spring to be deflected approximately 0.65″ from the normalrest position. This assures that when the spring end pops out of thedetent hole, the return spring force will slide the spring endcompletely across the divider and into the next hole. This conditionassures that as the wheel slows to a stop, the spring end will neverrest between the holes when the disc stops rotating. The wheel willcontinue rotating until it does not have sufficient inertia to pop thespring end out of a hole. At this point the wheel may reverse directionand bounce back and forth with the spring end within one hole. Thiseffect assures that the wheel rotation will never stop with theselection pointer pointing to the line between two selection areas onthe disc. The spring wire must also provide sufficient restoration forceback to the rest position, such that it can overcome the rotationalfriction of the disc to push it off the dividing line if the discrotation stops with the spring partially bent.

The operating characteristics of the spinner wheel can be selected overa wide range by choosing the size, shape, and spring characteristics ofthe detent spring. For example, the movable end of the spring shown inthe preferred embodiment is bent into a circle that is bent at angle toextend into the hole in the disc body. The amount of force required tomake the spring end pop out of a hole (retention resistance) isdetermined by the slope of the spring wire where it contacts the edge ofthe hole, and the amount of spring force that is applied perpendicularto the disc to hold the spring end in the hole. The slope of the springwire at the edge of the hole is determined by the diameter of the circleand by the tilt of the circle. A larger diameter circle has a shallowerslope where it contacts the edge of the hole, and therefore requiresless side force to cause it to pop out of the hole. Greaterperpendicular spring force would increase the required side force tomake the spring pop out of the hole.

A number of variations on the basic design of the random selectionspinner wheel are possible to provide operating characteristics that areslightly different from those of the preferred embodiment describedabove. For example, the detent spring described shown in FIG. 3 uses acircular shape on the movable end. This shape is symmetrical andprovides the same operation whether the wheel is rotated clockwise orcounterclockwise. The movable end of the spring wire can be madeasymmetrical with a different slope presented to the opposite edges ofthe hole in the disc body. This can cause a greater drag with rotationin one direction as compared to the other and therefore a differentialrun time depending on the direction of rotation.

Another variation on the design is to use multiple detent holes in thedisc body for each of the selection zones. This variation is useful whena small number of larger selection zones are used, or if smaller drumheads are desired to produce a higher pitched sound. This variation alsoprovides more dividers between the holes, so each individual divider canbe narrower without compromising the structural strength of the disc.The narrower dividers make the required spring deflection less, so lessstrain is placed on the spring. The higher number of holes in the discincreases the repetition rate of the sounds produced as the wheelrotates, which may be considered an advantage in some applications.Whether one or more holes are used per selection zone, it is importantthat the dividing lines between the selection zones always fall on thedividers between the holes, so the wheel will never stop with theselection pointer on a dividing line.

The shape of the holes in the disc body does not have to be round asshown in the preferred embodiment. Other shapes can be chosen,particularly to control the type of sound produced when the spring wirestrikes the drumhead. For example, a small wheel or one with a largenumber of selection zones may not have enough room for large round holesto produce a deeper pitched sound. Holes with a triangular or pie sliceshape can be fit closer together and still have a larger surface areafor a deeper pitched sound.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manychanges and modifications may be made without departing from theinvention in its broader aspects. The claims that follow are thereforeintended to cover all such changes and modifications as are permitted bythe patent laws of the respective countries in which this patent isgranted.

1. A random selection spinner comprising: a backboard; a spinner wheelhaving a front side and a backside and having one or more holes in thebackside thereof; an axle coupled to the backboard which passes into atleast portion of the spinner wheel and that couples the spinner wheel tothe backboard in that allows for rotation of the spinner wheel relativeto the backboard; a spacer located between the backboard and the spinnerwheel that keeps at least a portion of the spinner wheel a substantiallyconstant distance from the backboard; and a detent mechanism locatedbetween the backboard and the backside of the spinner that is arrangedto contact the one or more holes in the backside of the spinner.
 2. Therandom selection spinner of claim 1, wherein the one or more holes passcompletely through the spinner wheel.
 3. The random selection spinner ofclaim 2, further comprising: a coversheet displaced on the front side ofthe spinner wheel that covers the one or more holes.
 4. The randomselection spinner of the claim 3, wherein the coversheet includesmarking dividing it into two or more selection regions.
 5. The randomselection spinner of claim 1, wherein the backboard is stationaryobject.
 6. The random selection spinner of claim 6, where in thebackboard is a wall.
 7. The random selection spinner of claim 1, whereinat least a portion of the axle passes through the spinner wheel.
 8. Therandom selection spinner of claim 7, wherein the axle comprises: ascrew; and a bearing sleeve which surrounds the screw.
 9. The randomselection spinner of claim 7, wherein the spacer surrounds the axle. 10.The random selection spinner of claim 1, wherein the detent mechanism isa spring.
 11. The random selection spinner of claim 10, wherein thespring has a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first andsecond portion are at an angle relative to one another.
 12. The randomselection spinner of claim 11, wherein the second portion comprises aloop.